News & Honors

MIT biology professor Jing-Ke Weng studies metabolic evolution in plants and explores the remarkable plant chemodiversity for new commodity chemicals and medicines.
The UNT Postdoctoral Association will hold its first research symposium Wednesday, Oct. 31. The program’s major symposium will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Willis Library Forum, Room 140. This event will showcase the depth, breadth and variety of research conducted by post-docs at UNT and will include presentations by William Chan from the Department of Mathematics, Srinivas Mantri from the Department of Materials...

College of Engineering Professor Nourredine Boubekri will speak at the ninth annual American Manufacturing Strategies Summit in San Diego, California, Oct. 22 – 23, 2018.
An expert on technology innovation, Boubekri will speak on new developments in robotics, artificial intelligence, 3D/4D printing, quantum computing and other emerging technologies. He will address the challenges in technology development, implementation and diffusion in many sectors, including higher education.
“Since the ‘80s, technology has been advancing at an amazing rate,” says Boubekri, a faculty member in the ...

Educational psychology professor Darrell Hull has been named an award winner in the prestigious Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program.
For his Fulbright research, Hull will travel to Jamaica to study “unattached” youth — young people who are unemployed and are not in school or any training programs.
In Jamaica, “unattached” youth make up about 30 percent of the total youth population and have the highest unemployment rate at 22 percent.
“They don’t have the skills to get a job,” says Hull. “They’d like to work, but they don’t have the ability to get any traction.”
Hull will examine the long-term...

Four UNT faculty members were among the educators celebrated for their dedication to excellence through research, service and education. The awards were presented during the seventh annual Salute to Faculty Excellence Awards Dinner and Ceremony Oct. 5 at the University Union’s Emerald Ballroom. The ceremony was supported by the UNT Foundation, which accepts, invests and manages private gifts, endowed funds and other assets for the benefit of the university, including faculty and students.
John G. Peters
Peters, a University Distinguished Research Professor of English, was awarded the...

Professor Richard Dixon was recently elected into the Royal Society. The United Kingdom’s Royal Society is similar to the United States’ National Academy of Sciences of which Dixon also is a member. They are both prestigious organizations dedicated to the understanding and advancement of science.
“I am originally from the U.K. so my election into the Royal Society is especially exciting for me,” says Dixon, Distinguished Research Professor in UNT’s Department of Biological Sciences. “There is no checklist of achievement to become a member. You do your best and work with those around you. I...

Pictured from left to right: Nathan Wright (QV Partners), Jerry Browder (Signet Health), Jon McCarry (Director of UNT's Murphy Center), Heather Gregory (Stoke Denton), Ryan Davenport (Trestle Partners) and Marshall Culpeper (Kubos Corp) photographed inside Stoke Denton, a co-working space for entrepreneurs and startups in Denton, Texas.
The Murphy Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of North Texas is collaborating with the Denton community to launch a new investment group in the North Texas region.
The Denton Angel Investment Group — whose founders include several...

Pamela Padilla, professor in biological sciences and associate dean of research and graduate studies in the College of Science, has been named interim associate vice president for research and innovation at UNT.
Padilla began her new role Sept. 1. Padilla replaces Narendra Dahotre, who is currently serving as interim vice president of research and innovation.
In her new role, Padilla will help oversee the management of UNT’s shared instrumentation facilities across campus and work with the advisory groups and directors for each facility. She also will serve on the new Research Space...

photo by: Natalia Florencio
Renee Bryce, a professor in the College of Engineering, Department of Computer Science and Engineering received the 2018 Tech Titans of the Future– University Level Award, which included a $25,000 prize.
The award honors Dallas-Fort Worth higher education institutions that encourage and support students in pursuing engineering- and technology-related disciplines.
Bryce was recognized for creating the Bug Catcher and Bug Wars programs that have engaged thousands of high school and college students both in DFW and nationally to expose them to the tech field.
“The...

Brian McFarlin, co-director of the UNT Applied Physiology Lab and director of the International Sports Medicine Federation Collaborating Center of Excellence, has been named one of five editors for the journal METHODS.
METHODS is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering research on techniques in the experimental biological and medical sciences. McFarlin, a professor in the College of Education’s Department of Kinesiology, Health Promotion and Recreation, is one of only three Americans named to the editorial board.
“Getting picked to be a METHODS editor is a big deal,” McFarlin says. “This...

Readying students to be workforce leaders and providing solutions to society’s big issues through research innovation are part of what it means to be a next-generation university. UNT’s Office of Innovation and Commercialization (OIC) is doing both with its new Patent Internship Program. Sandesh Somashekar graduated in May with a set of specialized but transferable skills that set him apart from his classmates and complement his M.S. in electrical engineering.
“I only wish I had been able to participate sooner,” says Somashekhar, who last fall became the program’s first intern. “It felt like...

What happens to the world of math when descriptive set theory begins to merge with descriptive dynamics? According to the College of Science Regents Professor Stephen Jackson, you get the theory of definable sets.
“The theory of definable sets is on the very forefront of mathematical logic theory. It combines descriptive sets, ‘well-behaved’ real numbers and descriptive dynamics: the mathematics of movement,” says Jackson. “I will present my findings on definable set theory at the International Congress of Mathematicians in Rio de Janeiro in August.”
Founded in 1897, the congress is the...

Tao Yang, assistant professor of electrical engineering at UNT, earned the prestigious 2018 Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award from the Oak Ridge Associated Universities for his research into the future of electrical distribution, microgrids.
“Traditionally, electricity is provided through one central distribution network. This means a problem in one area will affect the entire grid causing power outages and blackouts,” Yang says. “Now, imagine if each user had a microgrid. People would be able to manage their own power distribution so if the main grid goes down they will...

This spring, first graders in Denton ISD were able to delve beyond the textbook and observe science up close using microscopes to observe fish developing from egg to embryo to larva. Aaron Roberts, professor of biological sciences at UNT and co-principal investigator with the RECOVER Consortium, worked with Melanie McGary, a first grade teacher at Newton Rayzor Elementary, to take research from his lab into classrooms at the school, where students learned about life cycles and oil spill science.
“The great thing about some of the fish we have in the lab is that the eggs are transparent,”...

John Ishiyama, University Distinguished Research Professor of political science at the University of North Texas, has earned the highest career award for service to the discipline presented by the American Political Science Association.
“I am very honored to receive the Frank J. Goodnow Award,” Ishiyama said. “This award also reflects what a great department I am in and will bring even greater notability, nationally and internationally, to our political science program.”
The award honors service to the community of teachers, researchers and public servants who work in the many fields of...

UNT Postdoctoral Association (UNT-PDA) was launched by the newly-formed Office of Postdoctoral Affairs in January to enhance the postdoctoral experience at UNT by providing support for the working-life and professional development of postdoctoral scholars.
The organization aims to offer relevant opportunities to postdocs from all research disciplines, from the sciences to liberal arts to music. All postdocs at UNT receive automatic membership in UNT-PDA, which presents a healthy blend of diversity in demographics and research interests. Postdoctoral scholars represent 17 nations and...